From Studio to Gallery:

From Studio to Gallery: Preparing your Gallery Application for the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center Tips and suggestions for meeting our mission, plus getting to know us! Moses Lake Museum & Art Center 401 S. Balsam Street, Moses Lake WA 98837 www.moseslakemuseum.com * 509-764-3830 * museum@cityofml.com updated 10/11/12

Greetings! We re excited you have chosen to apply for a gallery show at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center! These tips are intended to guide you through the process to create a strong proposal that fits with the mission and standards of our facility. They are not a one-size fits all, but we hope you will find them helpful and provide a better understanding of the museum and its institutional personality. Before you begin. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned gallery artist, here are a few points to consider before preparing your gallery application for the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center. 1. Develop your purpose. pg. 2 2. Consider the practicalities. pg. 3-4 3. Express yourself. pg. 5-6 4. Great visuals. pg. 7 5. Food for thought. pg. 8 History Notes: The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center was founded as the Adam East Museum on May 1, 1958. Helen Knapp served as the museum s first official curator for almost 30 years. In 1990, the Adam East Museum & Art Center added a fine art gallery. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center moved into the Moses Lake Civic Center in 2011. Cover Art: (top) Matt Woo, bottom (left to right) Anne Bullock, Danna Dal Porto, Tiffany Patterson pg. 1

Develop your purpose. Interview... yourself! Whether you just want to share the unbelievable photograph you captured last summer, or further an established career in art - develop your purpose by asking yourself a few questions. Q. What makes your work stand out, or artistically significant? Q. Who do you think your artwork will most appeal to? Q. Why are you interested in presenting your artwork to the Moses Lake community? Q. Does your exhibition have a theme or focused message? We want to get to know you (and so do our visitors)! Maybe your artwork stood out in a past group exhibition, was inspired by a compelling topic, or you have a traveling exhibit you feel would bring an example of artistic excellence to our community. Your proposal should reflect more than your medium. Build a case for it! Why we do what we do. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center is a government and member supported facility serving a city population of 20,858 and a county population of 91,265 (2011 U.S. Census Bureau). The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center is a program of the City of Moses Lake Parks & Recreation Department. Our mission is to produce exhibits and programming that further understanding of local history and broaden exposure to the arts. We re seeking proposals that compliment our mission of bringing arts and culture to Moses Lake. Consider what impact you want your show to have on the community and how you can accomplish that through an exhibit at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center. pg.2

Consider the practicalities. The nuts and bolts. No matter how stunning your artwork is, or how compelling your project is on paper, - without a clear idea of how to accomplish your goals, your proposal will not make the cut. Ask yourself: Q. What are the logistical requirements? (ex. how will you transport your artwork, does it require special equipment for installation, etc.) Q. How will you cover the associated costs? (framing, travel, etc.) Q. How can you contribute to marketing your show? (ex. do you have a mailing list, are you available to do radio spots, newspaper interviews, do you actively participate in social media, etc.) The question of $. Let s face it, gallery shows can be expensive! If you are not already supporting your craft through the sale of artwork or grants, consider seeking a sponsor for your show. Ask a local organization, business or group of friends to help you cover exhibition costs, or offer in-kind solutions. We will be happy to acknowledge your sponsor or granting organization in our publicity materials. Gallery sales. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center charges a 30% commission on sales. You are not required to sell your work, and your decision will not effect acceptance of your gallery proposal. All member discounts and purchase incentives are subtracted from the museum s commission percentage. If you are a gallery artist with an established sales record, please maintain your current retail prices. If you are just getting started, consider making your prices competative. Make sure you cover your costs, but make your prices attractive to the local market. Establishing a sales record takes time. We are not a traditional fine arts gallery. Our first priority is providing quality public programming. Our sales record favors artwork in the $100-$500 price range. Works that are minimally and contemporarily framed sell best. The majority of our sales occur during the opening reception of new gallery shows. We encourage you to consider selling complimentary merchandise or artwork in our Museum Store during the course of your show. pg. 3

What you can expect from us (and what we expect in return). The basics. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center will cover costs up to and including staff time, standard hanging supplies and equipment, liability insurance, basic operating expenses related to your exhibition, gallery sales, pre-approved collateral programming, traditional marketing, design, printing, distribution of publicity materials and reception expenses. Our gallery track system. Our gallery track system allows us a maximum variety of hanging arrangements from traditional gallery rows to salon-style stacked installations - the hanging system is intended to minimize installation time and damage to the gallery walls. If your proposal requires non-traditional suspention or pedestals we will work with you to develop a solution. To learn more about our gallery track visit www.ashanging.com. The main wall is equipped with the Classic System, the pods are equipped with the Click Rail System. More details are outlined in the MAC Gallery Diagram document on our website. Publicity. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center will provide assistance with publicity, ongoing publications, website and social media outlets. MAC will send out a press release to local media. MAC will design, print and distribute postcards for each gallery cycle. Each exhibiting artist will be provided with 50 postcards for their own distribution in advance of the opening date. You may request additional cards at cost. We strongly recommend that you generate additional promotion for your show, such as: email announcements, social media campaigns and local radio etc. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center name/logo must appear on any additional promotional materials exhibitors produce. A high resolution logo is available upon request. We request a copy of any promotional materials for review before release. We expect: that you will uphold all deadlines as outlined in the gallery contract (delivery of images, label information, delivery of artwork, etc.). that your artwork will be delivered in ready-to-hang condition (art is framed, wired, labeled and ready to install). pg. 4

Express yourself. Writing your proposal. Create a title for your exhibition and write a brief description. The title should be short, memorable and illuminating. The description does not need to be scholarly, but it should reflect your intent and the character of your proposed exhibition. Your proposal should describe your gallery show from concept to installation in simple straightforward language. The 3 main elements of your written proposal are: Your title (10 words or less): Less is more. The title should be both descriptive and visual. It will be used on publicity materials and on interior signage. Think of the title as the logo for your show. Exhibit description (100 words or less): Your 3-4 sentence exhibit description is the statement that will be used on publicity materials to describe your show. Think of it as your elevator speech. If you were riding an elevator with a stranger and had only a few seconds to describe your show, this is how you would wow them. Exhibit proposal (approximatley 1-2 pages): The exhibit proposal is the most important part of your application because it provides us with the information we need to plan a schedule that is both balanced and diverse - and prepare the gallery for your individual installation needs. Your proposal should explain in detail the conceptual ideas and logistic requirements for your exhibition. Include: an overview of the concept behind the show, the number of works, a description of the works to be included and the specifics of installation. Suggested additional topics: How is your exhibit original? When is it available (do you have prior commitments)? Why do you think your exhibit is a good fit for our museum s mission? Are there any possible logisitcal difficulties? If the proposal is for an installation or piece not yet constructed, please include examples of your prior work, with a detailed diagram or description of your proposed idea. Indicate if you are applying for a solo show, or would consider a curated exhibition with multiple artists. pg. 5

Optional Materials: These optional materials will add to the overall quality of your application. Don t worry if you can t supply them all, or any of them - your images and exhibit proposal are the most important part of your application. If you are an experienced gallery artist and/or applying for the Main Gallery, we highly recommend you include these materials. Audience description (100 words or less): Describe the audience your exhibition will attract. Does your artwork appeal to a specific artistic taste? Are you on the cutting-edge of a particular medium? Who do you think will be drawn to these unique aspects of your artwork? Artist Statement (500 words or less): This is where you may wish to expand on your larger body of work and who you are as an artist. An artist statement may be used to supplement your installation. Cover Letter: Whether or not you have previous acquaintance with our museum staff, an opening letter will formally express your intention to exhibit your work. Briefly outline what you want to exhibit, and when and why. Keep it short, sweet, and well thought out. Artist CV, portfolio and/or related press materials. If you have a Curriculum Vitae, have exhibited your work in previous gallery shows, wish to share educational or professional credentials or press reviews of your work please include copies. If you have a portfolio you may wish to share it during the course of the exhibit for our visitors to view. Collateral activities: Can you offer educational elements to compliment the exhibit? (workshops, classes or lectures, etc.) Having a strong community outreach component to your proposal relates to our main mission objectives. Note: Be clear, be concise, be complete. Don t use art speak, compare yourself to another artist, or tell your life story. Determine exactly what you want to say - and let the rest fall away. Carelessly prepared matierals can hurt you, they send a message that you are sloppy and disorganized. Details count. If an artist cannot follow instructions for the proposal it follows that difficulties mounting the show might also occur. pg. 6

Great visuals. Present your art in the best light. We highly recommend you make the images you submit of the best possible quality. They will give us our first impression of your artwork, act as a guide through installation and be used for all publicity materials. Guidelines: High resolution electronic images (taken at 300 dpi) JPEG files are our standard. Images should be MAC and PC compatible. Images should be accompanied with a list that includes: title, artist, media, size and price (if your artwork is not for sale label it as NFS). Label image files with titles that match your image list. 10 images are sufficient. Larger exhibition proposals may include up to 20 images. Tip: Include a thumbnail sheet of your images to make your proposal easy to view at a glance! If you are submitting your application electronically, send large files or zipfiles through yousendit.com. pg. 7

Food for thought. Making a connection. Ultimately you want your gallery proposal to create a positive connection with the museum and our community. A positive relationship is so important as you will be working closely with our staff to ensure your artwork will be displayed to its best advantage and presented knowledgably to visitors to the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center. Visit us. If you are able to visit our space before preparing your application make it a priority. Think about whether your proposed exhibition is suitable for the space. Research past exhibitions. If your proposal is something new, convince us we should give it a chance! If you can t visit in person request photos of the space, we ll be happy to help you. The process. We schedule the main gallery at least one year in advance. The new community gallery will be scheduled twice a year. We begin approaching artists in January. Depending on the number of submissions we receive and the availability of each artist it may take several weeks to finalize scheduling. The second community gallery cycle will be scheduled in May. Follow up. We appreciate professional follow-up much like that after a job interview. If you would like a time-line for reviewing your submission please email a request. Following up in this manner lets us know that you are serious and sincerely interested in showing your artwork at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center. Be yourself. Have fun! We love what we do! Fun is an essential part of the recipe that makes up our organization. We have the privilage to work with some of our region s most excellent artists and historians - and we strive to be a public resource that is both compelling and approachable. We hope you will join our growing network in bringing excellence in arts and culture to Moses Lake. Questions? If you have further questions about how to fill out your application, or specific questions related to your proposal please contact Freya Hart at fhart@cityofml.com. pg. 8